Manager/ Senior Manager/ Associate Director

Job description

About IDinsight

IDinsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting evidence- generating tools. They tailor the best methodologies to partner needs and constraints to fuse evidence with action. IDinsight serves governments, NGOs, foundations and social businesses across Africa and Asia in all major program areas including health, education, agriculture, livelihoods, finance, energy and governance.

IDinsight’s approach rests on four pillars:

• Rigorous: They develop and use a wide-range of cutting edge data and evidence tools, including experimental evaluations, monitoring systems, data analytics and visualization, process evaluations, machine learning and more.
• Cost-effective: Every dollar spent is justified by expected impact. If funds could be better used in another way, we say so.
• Timely: Actionable information is delivered in time for client decision-making deadlines.
• Demand-driven: They deploy solutions tailored to partner contexts and needs with no competing agendas.

Their diverse, growing team of over 140 outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen countries around the world. Learn more at www.IDinsight.org.

About the role

Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors are dynamic, diverse leaders who are passionate about making a difference, possess exceptional analytical skills, and thrive in an entrepreneurial, developing country setting. IDinsight invests heavily in our employees’ professional development and expects them to think critically and creatively about how to maximize our clients’ social impact.

Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors oversee all aspects of client engagements (with support from an IDinsight Director/Partner) in order to produce high-quality outputs, but more importantly, to drive each client to achieve its social impact goals. Towards this end, they are expected to develop a diverse skill set, including establishing trusted advisor relationships with clients, mentoring high-performing early professionals (Associates), developing expertise in a broad range of econometric, data, and field experiment tools and overseeing all project and/or office-related safety & security risk management for their team members

Manager, Senior Manager, and Associate Directors’ roles will be unique and tailored to individual strengths and interests. However, at a high level, these roles will include the following:

Key Responsibilities: 

• Client liaising: Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors establish themselves as experts and trusted advisors to IDinsight clients. They use their position to provide high quality counsel and support based on rigorous evidence for senior leaders in governments, foundations, NGOs, and socially impactful businesses.
• Technical skills: Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors harness and direct the intellectual horsepower fueling IDinsight project teams. They lead all elements of IDinsight evaluation and advisory projects, including evaluation design, project management, oversight of analytical processes, engagement of internal and external experts, and construction of high-quality communication materials including policy briefs, technical reports, and presentation materials. They need not be Stata wizards, but must be able to develop a deep and nuanced understanding of how econometric, data, and field experiment tools can be tailored to client needs.
• Mentorship of junior staff: Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors have the opportunity to professionally develop IDinsight Associates in order to help them achieve their long-term career goals. Associates have exceptional raw talent, and are very energetic to learn from Managers in order to hone various skills.
• IDinsight growth: When ready, Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors are encouraged to contribute to IDinsight’s organizational development by helping to improve and refine the IDinsight approach, develop new client engagements, oversee country offices, and the potential to help open new IDinsight offices or start new services.
• Be a thought leader, a trusted advisor, and an advocate for sector-specific reforms: In addition to leading projects, Managers, Senior Managers, and Associate Directors may apply their considerable experience, expertise, and skills to shape evidence-informed action within one or multiple sectors, regions, or specializations. This includes writing in leading newspapers and journals, speaking at important conferences, harnessing relationships and networks within the impact community to develop trusted advisory positions with senior leaders, and participating in consultative councils within governments, foundations, and/or non-profits.

Although these positions will be based in a specific IDinsight office, you will be expected to spend time in rural areas and potentially other countries in the region in addition to the IDinsight office. As project needs arise, flexibility in relocating to other countries for shorter-assignments is expected. Longer-term transfers may also be required, due to the international nature of IDinsight’s client services.

Additionally, due to the COVID-19 crisis, they are currently working remotely until it is possible to safely and responsibly resume work from office.

Location: Dakar, Lusaka, Nairobi, Rabat

Does this sound like you?

• Advanced degree, preferably in public policy, economics, public administration, business.
• 4-15 years relevant work experience, including managerial experience in a developing country.
• Deep passion to improve lives around the world.
• Demonstrated interest in the use of evidence, rigorous impact measurement, and data to improve international development policies and programs, particularly around financial and social protection.
• Outstanding interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills with senior officials.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate other staff in a dynamic, multicultural environment.
• Outstanding quantitative and critical thinking skills, with a nuanced understanding of econometric, data, and field experiment tools, including but not limited to statistical software (Stata wizards welcome, but not mandatory).
• Self-starter who will thrive in a start-up setting by taking ownership and initiative.
• Intellectual curiosity and sense of humor.

Persons of all gender, race, sex, orientation, age, and identity are encouraged to apply.